Papers of William Evans and Alan Custance Baker

The collection comprises correspondence of William Evans to his wife and family (1883-1905), giving anecdotal experiences of his time in Singapore and China. Also the correspondence of his son-in-law, Alan Baker, primarily to his mother (1905-1922) giving news and accounts of his experiences in Oxford and in Malaya. Some of the letters are in French.

William Evans was born 5 Sep 1860. He was attached to the Chinese Protectorate Service in 1882. He held numerous positions in Singapore and Penang before becoming Protector of Chinese, Straits Settlements in 1895. He held the position of Municipal Commissioner for Singapore for a number of stretches between 1895 and 1903. In 1911 he became Resident Councillor for Penang.

William Evans's son-in-law, Alan Custance Baker was a member of the Malayan Civil Service from 1908-1940.

The collection is arranged in two parts. Part One is the correspondence of William Evans. It is subdivided into: letters dated 1883-1904 of William Evans, Chinese Protectorate Service; letters of William Evans to his wife Jil, 1893- 1905; miscellaneous.

Part Two is the correspondence of Alan Baker. It is subdivided into: correspondence of Alan Custance Baker addressed to his mother, 1905-1922; letters of Alan Custance Baker to his father, 1918-1920; other correspondence; miscellaneous. Within each subdivision, correspondence is arranged chronologically.

Open

Donated in 1979.

Unpublished handlist